On our Radar: Artists to Watch in Spring 2025

The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) was founded by members of the Bloomsbury Group, a cohort of artists, writers and intellectuals who understood how much artists need support at the beginning of their careers. In honour of our history, we thought we’d continue the tradition in a new way – by offering a seasonal spotlight to artists creating bold and dynamic work in the present day.

The On Our Radar list shines a light on the careers of emerging artists who are developing a distinctive visual vocabulary in a highly competitive environment – and who, regardless of the demands of the market – are forging practices that speak to the current moment.

Continue scrolling to read more about the artists selected for the Spring 2025 list.

Nils Alix-Tabeling

Spanning across installation, performance, video and sculpture, Nils Alix-Tabeling’s fantastical practice typically resembles furniture or fragments of the human body – proposing surreal and uncanny anatomical transmutations that incorporate organic and antique forms. Born in Paris in 1991, he studied at the École nationale supérieur des arts visuals, followed by the Royal College of Art. Referencing bygone epochs and religious iconography, his installations playfully invoke queer identities, the occult and pagan narratives. As a student he studied the histories of witchcraft – an area of interest that continues to resound in his practice, which exists tentatively at the threshold of reality and fiction. Now his work expands towards issues pertaining to social and political justice, drawing on themes such as ecology and science fiction. Deploying a range of techniques, from 3D-printing with photosensitive resin, to more conventional pastels and oils on canvas, Alix-Tabeling’s inventive use of materials propose alternative worlds – ones in which the past and present, magical and real collide in spectacular fashion. In 2023, he held a solo show at the Dortmund Kunstverein in Germany, and in 2022, he exhibited in the group show Planet B: Climate Change & the New Sublime, curated by Nicolas Bourriaud at Palazzo Bollani in Venice. His work will be on display at Public Gallery, London from 9 April – 10 May.

Leo Arnold

British painter Leo Arnold trained at the Glasgow School of Art before undertaking a two-year residency at De Ateliers in Amsterdam, where he spends most of his time today. Currently showing at Brunette Coleman – the Bloomsbury gallery founded in 2023 – Arnold’s four paintings on display are hung next to work by Jo Baer, the late American artist who Arnold worked with closely (he was her studio assistant). Contrasting to Baer’s minimalist works on paper from the 1960s, Arnold’s larger-scale paintings, such as Eurostar 1 (Schoten) and Eurostar 3 (s'-Gravendeel) appear to relish in the tactility of paint and various permutations of texture and colour. Deep crimson is juxtaposed with soft, lime green beneath a dusk pink sky, as we perceive a landscape framed by the windows of a train. This body of work was largely inspired by his regular travels between Amsterdam and London, when contemplating the world from his Eurostar carriage. Arnold photographed these journeys, later returning to the images months or even years later. These works evoke the experience of living between two places; the passage of time with a hint of nostalgia. Composed of many layers of paint – in an impasto, raw style – Arnold displays a unique handling of oil paint. While in some works, his muted colour palette is reminiscent of contemporary artists such as Luc Tuymans, in others, one can sense his preference for historic painting (he is an admirer of Éduouard Vuillard and the early works of Piet Mondrian). Arnold’s work is currently on display at SACCADES Leo Arnold (with Jo Baer) at Brunette Coleman until 5 March 2025.

Bea Bonafini

The Italian artist Bea Bonafini studied at the Slade School of Fine Art followed by the Royal College of Art. Working across painting, textiles, sculpture and installation, Bonafini’s intricate works are usually comprised of bold and pastel colours that typically coalesce in kaleidoscopic formation, evoking corporeal forms or alluding to the kinds of religious symbolism found ubiquitously in her native Italy. Abstract, ethereal silhouettes appear to float and converge in her wall pieces, occasionally suggesting the outline of a crescent moon, or womb-like, feminine shapes. Describing her works as an opening into another world, Bonafini has been known to attach her practice to spiritual and mythological themes – encounters with alternative realities, manifested through playful, vibrant colour. She has exhibited in group shows internationally and has exhibited as a solo artist since 2017, recently with the presentation A Monstrous Fruit, at Setareh, Berlin and the group show La Mariposa (Butterfly Woman) at Soho Revue as well as Sorry about the mess co-curated by Babe Station and Bow Arts (on display at 125 Shaftesbury Avenue, London until 30 March 2025).

R.I.P. Germain

The South-East London-based artist has been building a reputation in recent years for his conceptual practice, usually manifested in the form of installation and immersive environments. Imbued with visual puns and intriguing tensions, his work – a tangential or overt interrogation of social power dynamics – considers the personal and collective Black experience in contemporary Britain. Once describing his artistic role as a self-elected archivist of music subcultures, his multidisciplinary practice gives a nod to urban youth movements: such as UK Drill and music video culture. Rooted in extensive research, Germain is also a lecturer, essayist and mentor. In May 2023, his multi-part installation Jesus Died For Us, We Will Die For Dudas opened at the ICA, which probed the white (mis)perception of relations within the Black community, and how that pertains to cultural gatekeeping within Black culture. His work is currently featured in the group show Yay, to have a mouth! co-curated by Rose Easton & Ginny on Frederick (until 29 March 2025) and his solo show R.I.P. Germain: Anti-Blackness is bad, even the parts that we like opens at Cabinet Gallery (until 10 May 2025).

Bronwyn Katz

The South African artist Bronwyn Katz creates sculptural installations that are guided by the materiality of the objects she chooses to work with. Hung on walls or laid across floors, her sculptures can be interpreted as an ode to minimalism, yet also contain deeper reflections on the cultural context of South Africa and human narratives. Constructing her work from found objects, she selects material fragments that are imbued with symbolism or memories relating to the history of her native country, thus she thinks critically and conceptually about how her selected found objects speak to both the past and present. Growing up after the period of apartheid (1948 until the early 1990s), her art reflects her immediate environment and the tales passed down by her ancestors, meaning that storytelling – narratives of power dynamics and resistance – underpins her work. Studying at the University of Cape Town, Katz has since exhibited internationally. In 2021, she presented her first solo show in London, Bronwyn Katz: I turn myself into a star and visit my loves ones in the sky at White Cube, and she is currently featured in the group show Each Place Its Own Mind at Edel Assanti (until 15 March).
 

Text written by Lydia Figes, Curator of Digital. The Spring 2025 list was selected by the CAS Curatorial Team.